On This Day – August 07 : Methane, ammonia and carbon dioxide were announced to have been detected in the atmosphere of Mars on this day in 1969

American chemist George Pimentel pioneered the development of rapid-scan infrared spectroscopy techniques. He designed the spectrometer for the Mariner spacecraft that explored Mars in 1969, which detected the compounds. He highly suspected that life had existed on Mars but there has been no such proof.